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Jeff Daniels

Birth name: Kathleen Treado

Birth date: 19.02.1955

An attractive All-American looking leading man of the 1980s with a flair for playing perplexed characters overtaken by unusual circumstances, Jeff Daniels first registered with the public with his performances as a mostly self-involved semi-intellectual who cheats on his cancer-stricken wife in "Terms of Endearment" (1983). Two years later, he solidified his status as the smug actor in the film-within-the-film who steps off the screen to woo Mia Farrow in Woody Allen's "The Purple Rose of Cairo" (1985). But Daniels' defining role, and one of his finest performances to date, came as the feckless hero caught up in the kinky and dangerous world of a free-spirited woman in Jonathan Demme's offbeat comedy-thriller, "Something Wild" (1986). Born in Georgia but raised in Michigan, Daniels attended college with the intention of becoming a teacher, although he minored in theater. Cast by guest director Marshall W Mason in a production of "Summer and Smoke" in his junior year, he dropped out of college and moved to NYC to work with Mason at the Circle Repertory Company. Beginning as an apprentice, Daniels eventually made his stage debut with the company in 1976. Playwright Lanford Wilson expressly wrote the role of Jed, the homosexual lover of a paraplegic, in "Fifth of July" for Daniels, who appeared in both the 1978 Off-Broadway version and the 1980 Broadway production. (He also reprised the role for the TV version first aired on Showtime in 1982.) For his stunning performance in the one-man "Johnny Got His Gun" (1982), the actor received an OBIE award. Other Broadway credits included "The Golden Age" (1984), A R Gurney's modern-day version of Henry James' "The Aspern Papers", and Lanford Wilson's "Redwood Curtain" (1993), a role he reprised in the 1995 CBS TV adaptation. Daniels entered films in the small role of the policeman who breaks up a fight between Coalhouse Walker and the fire chief in "Ragtime" (1981). He was wasted as Meryl Streep's editor and friend in "Heartburn" (1986), but fared better as a radio action hero in Woody Allen's "Radio Days" (1987). Daniels has also played leading roles in the little-seen "The House on Carroll Street" (1988), as the stalwart All-American FBI agent who nevertheless helps the "red-tainted" Kelly McGillis ferret out why U.S. officials are hiding a group of German immigrants in Brooklyn, "Checking Out" (1988), as a raging hypochondriac, and "The Butcher's Wife" (1991), opposite Demi Moore. Daniels managed to hold his own alongside several hundred spiders and the scene-stealing John Goodman in the creepy "Arachnophobia" (1990), and he won much-deserved acclaim for his fine performance as Joshua Chamberlain, the Union colonel who defends Little Round Top, in the otherwise middling "Gettysburg" (1993). He ventured back to lighter fare and better box office in supporting roles as Keanu Reeves' partner in the exciting actioner "Speed" and displayed a rarely-seen goofy side in the smash holiday-hit "Dumb and Dumber" (both 1994). In 1996, Daniels further demonstrated his versatility by appearing in the ensemble of the edgy independent film "2 Days in the Valley", playing Anna Paquin's estranged father in the heart-warming "Fly Away Home,” and going up against Glenn Close's Cruella DeVil in the live-action remake "101 Dalmatians.” In the late 80s, Daniels retreated to his hometown of Chelsea, Michigan, where he founded the Purple Rose Theater Company. Since its inception, the company has produced several of Daniels' own plays, including "Shoe Man,” "The Vast Difference" and "The Kingdom's Coming.” Daniels made his feature directorial debut with the locally themed comedy "Escanaba in da Moonlight" (2001), adapted from his stage play about a hunting trip gone slightly awry. The film was self-distributed in Michigan in 2001 to little fanfare, though his second outing as writer-director proved more successful. Daniel's "Super Sucker," a comedy about rival vacuum cleaner salesmen, won a slot at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen and walked away with the fest's Audience Award for Best Feature. In Hollywood, Daniels continued to walk the hit-and-miss path of the actor who can play both leading and character roles; alternately appearing in bombs like the film remake of the 1960s sit-com "My Favorite Martian" (1999) and in moving roles in popular films such as "Pleasantville" (1998), in which he played the lonely soda shop owner Mr. Johnson living in an artificial, black-and-white world of a 1950s sit-com, who strikes up an unexpected—and Technicolor—romance with a married woman (Joan Allen). In between big-screen projects, Daniels also turned in exemplary work in several television efforts, including playing George Washington in the A&E telepic "The Crossing" (2000). In 2002, Daniels appeared in Clint Eastwood's detective thriller "Blood Work" and made a renewed impression on audiences in a brief but memorable role as Ed Harris' former lover in Steven Daldry's "The Hours" and in the reprisal of his role as Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain in "Gods and Generals," Ron Maxwell's 2003 prequel to "Gettysburg.” For his next movie, Daniels stepped behind the camera as well as in front, as he wrote, directed and starred in the slapstick “Super Sucker” (2002), about a door-to-door vacuum salesman who discovers his product can double as a sex toy for dissatisfied housewives. Daniels also contributed to financing the film, but unfortunately it failed to earn wide distribution and went straight to video after a brief appearance in theaters. After a turn in the ABC telepic adaptation of Mitch Albom's bestseller "The Five People You Meet In Heaven" (2004), Daniels next appeared as a grieving father in “Imaginary Heroes” (2005). Co-starring Sigourney Weaver and Emile Hirsch, the film depicted a family mourning the death of their eldest son (Kip Pardue) who killed himself when the pressure of being a high school swimming champion became too much to handle. In “Because of Winn-Dixie” (2005), Daniels played the preacher father of a young girl (AnnaSophia Robb) who comes to live with him for the summer despite their troubled relationship caused by her mother’s desertion. He next had a nicely etched supporting turn in George Clooney's second directorial effort "Good Night and Good Luck" (2005) playing straight-talking network CBS news executive Sid Mickelson, followed by strong notices in writer-director Noah Baumbach's autobiographical "The Squid and the Whale" (2005), the story of two young boys dealing with their parents divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s. Daniels played the patriarch of an eccentric Brooklyn family who claims to have been a famous novelist but is now reduced to teaching, and after his estranged wife finds literary success he finds himself sleeping with a student whom his elder son is courting. Daniels returned to high-concept studio fare with a supporting role in the one-note comedy, “RV” (2006), playing the father in a family of fulltime RV travelers whose friendliness and constant singing drive another family, headed by an overworked executive (Robin Williams) on a vacation with his disgruntled family, more crazy than they make themselves. Daniels didn’t have to look far for inspiration for the role—in real life, he has been an RV enthusiast and drove his own recreational vehicle to and from set. Despite poor reviews, “RV” took its opening weekend with a $16 million haul at the box office. Meanwhile, Daniels was set to be seen in “Infamous” (2006), the second biopic in as many years about Truman Capote (Toby Jones) and his six year stint in Holcomb, Kansas investigating a grisly quadruple homicide that led to his writing In Cold Blood. Daniels played Alvin Dewey, the KBI agent who befriends Capote and helps grant the writer unprecedented access to information and the prisoners, including their hangings at Kansas State Penitentiary. After “Infamous” came and went without so much as a whimper, Daniels delivered a typically competent performance in Scott Frank’s directorial debut “The Lookout” (2007), playing the blind roommate of a former high school hockey star (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) brain damaged from a car accident who is recruited by a group of thieves to help rob a bank, only to outwit them at their own game after the job goes awry.

Filmography

# Howl (2010) .... Professor David Kirk # Paper Man (2009) # Away We Go (2009) # State of Play movie download page (2009) .... George Fergus # Arlen Faber movie download page (2009) .... Arlen Faber movie download page ... aka The Answer Man (USA: new title) # Traitor movie download page (2008) .... Carter # Space Chimps movie download page (2008) (voice) .... Zartog # Sweet Nothing in My Ear (2008) (TV) .... Dan Miller # Mama's Boy (2007) .... Mert Rosenbloom # A Plumm Summer (2007) .... Narrator # The Lookout movie download page (2007) .... Lewis # Infamous (2006) .... Alvin Dewey # RV movie download page (2006) .... Travis Gornicke ... aka RV movie download page: Runaway Vacation (Australia) (UK) ... aka Die Chaoscamper (Germany) ... aka Runaway Vacation (International: English title) # Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005) .... Sig Mickelson # Because of Winn-Dixie (2005) .... Preacher # The Squid and the Whale movie download page (2005) .... Bernard Berkman # The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2004) (TV) .... Blue Man # Imaginary Heroes (2004) .... Ben Travis # The Goodbye Girl (2004) (TV) .... Elliot Garfield ... aka Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl (USA: complete title) # I Witness (2003) .... James Rhodes ... aka Nur tote Zeugen schweigen - I Witness (Germany: DVD title) # Gods and Generals (2003) .... Lt. Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain # The Hours (2002) .... Louis Waters # Blood Work (2002) .... Jasper 'Buddy' Noone # Super Sucker (2002) .... Fred Barlow ... aka Daft as a Brush (UK: DVD title) # Escanaba in da Moonlight (2001) .... Rueben Soady # Chasing Sleep (2000) .... Ed Saxon ... aka Insomnies (Canada: French title) (France) # Cheaters (2000) (TV) .... Dr. Gerard Plecki # The Crossing (2000) (TV) .... Gen. George Washington # All the Rage (1999) .... Warren Harding ... aka It's the Rage (USA: cable TV title) # My Favorite Martian (1999) .... Tim O'Hara ... aka My Favourite Martian (Australia) # Pleasantville (1998) .... Bill Johnson # Trial and Error (1997) .... Charles 'Charlie' Tuttle # 101 Dalmatians (1996) .... Roger # 2 Days in the Valley (1996) .... Alvin Strayer # Fly Away Home (1996) .... Thomas "Tom" Alden ... aka Father Goose ... aka Flying Wild # Redwood Curtain (1995) (TV) .... Lyman Fellers # Dumb & Dumber (1994) .... Harry Dunne ... aka Dumb Happens ... aka Dumb and Dumber (USA: video box title) # Speed movie download page (1994/I) .... Det. Harold 'Harry' Temple # "Frasier" .... Doug (1 episode, 1993) - Here's Looking at You (1993) TV episode (voice) .... Doug # Gettysburg (1993) .... Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain # There Goes the Neighborhood (1992) .... Willis Embry ... aka Paydirt # Rain Without Thunder (1992) .... Jonathan Garson # Teamster Boss: The Jackie Presser Story (1992) (TV) .... Tom Noonan ... aka Power Play: The Jackie Presser Story (UK: video title) # Timescape (1992) .... Ben Wilson ... aka Grand Tour: Disaster in Time (USA: video title) ... aka The Grand Tour (USA: closing credits title) # The Butcher's Wife (1991) .... Dr. Alex Tremor # Love Hurts (1990) .... Paul Weaver # Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (1990) .... Denton Webb # Arachnophobia (1990) .... Dr. Ross Jennings # No Place Like Home (1989) (TV) .... Mike # Checking Out (1989) .... Ray Macklin # Sweet Hearts Dance (1988) .... Sam Manners # "Tanner '88" .... Park Ranger (1 episode, 1988) ... aka "Tanner: A Political Fable" - The Girlfriend Factor (1988) TV episode .... Park Ranger # The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988) (TV) .... Lt. Steve Maryk # The House on Carroll Street (1988) .... Cochran # "Trying Times" .... Jim (1 episode, 1987) - The Visit (1987) TV episode .... Jim # Radio Days (1987) .... Biff Baxter # Something Wild (1986) .... Charles Driggs # Heartburn (1986) .... Richard # Marie (1985) .... Eddie Sisk ... aka Marie: A True Story # The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985) .... Tom Baxter / Gil Shepherd # Terms of Endearment (1983) .... Flap Horton # An Invasion of Privacy (1983) (TV) .... Francis Ryan # Fifth of July (1982) (TV) .... Jed Jenkins # Ragtime (1981) .... P.C. O'Donnell ... aka Love and Glory (Philippines: English title) # "Breaking Away" (1 episode, 1980) - Pilot (1980) TV episode # A Rumor of War (1980) (TV) .... Chaplain # "Hawaii Five-O" .... Neal Forrester (1 episode, 1980) ... aka "McGarrett" (USA: rerun title) - The Flight of the Jewels (1980) TV episode .... Neal Forrester